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Pretenders to tape ‘Austin City Limits’ TV show in March

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band the Pretenders will tape an episode of “Austin City Limits” at ACL Live on March 13, the long-running television show announced Monday.

The Pretenders will tape “Austin City Limits” in March. Scott Moore for American-Statesman 2016

It’s the first taping announcement for the program’s 43rd season. The Pretenders have never appeared on the show before, though it’s a quick return for them to ACL Live, where they performed a regular ticketed concert last October just after the release of a new album, “Alone.”

Details about entering the lottery for free tickets will be posted about a week before the taping to the ACL TV website and to the show’s social media accounts. The taping coincides with the band’s Erwin Center appearance on March 12 opening for Stevie Nicks. It’s also in the same window as the start of South by Southwest, but an SXSW representative says the band is not playing the festival.

Leader Chrissie Hynde and drummer Martin Chambers are the sole original members of the band, which formed in England in 1978 and released several top-10-selling albums in the 1980s. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005. The current lineup also includes guitarist James Walbourne, bassist Nick Wilkinson and pedal steel guitarist Eric Heywood.

[This story was updated to include the Pretenders’ Erwin Center appearance with Stevie Nicks.]